Nerve cell. Coloured computer image based on laser scanning microscope sections through a nerve cell. Many dendrites (branching projections) can be seen extending from the bulbous cell body. Dendrites serve to gather information for the cell, which it then passes on as a chemical or electrical signal. Signals are passed along a large fibre called an axon (not seen). Nerve cells carry information throughout the body, from the central nervous system (CNS, the brain and spinal cord) to the muscles, and from sensory nerves back to the CNS. Magnification: x267 at 6x6cm size. Magnification: x200 at 4.5x4.5cm size.